In a typical electrostatographic reproduction apparatus, a photoconductive member has a uniform charge applied to it. The member is then imagewise exposed to light to selectively discharge the member, leaving behind an electrostatic latent image. This image is developed with toner to form a visible image. The visible image is transferred to a receiver sheet to which the image is permanently fixed by heat and/or pressure. To prepare the photoconductive member for the next copying cycle, the member is cleaned by a cleaning station. This cleaning station removes debris, such as background toner, dirt, carrier particles and receiver sheet fillers, from the member.
One type of cleaning station utilizes a cleaning brush and a cleaning nozzle to accomplish cleaning of the photoconductive member. The brush includes a core which has acrylic fibers attached to it's outer surface. The cleaning brush is located proximate the photoconductive member such that the fibers engage the member. Preferably, the brush is rotated in the opposite direction from which the photoconductive member is traveling. The fibers remove debris from the member. In order to prevent the cleaning brush from becoming clogged with debris, a cleaning nozzle is used to remove the debris from the brush . The nozzle protrudes slightly into the fibers of the brush, and a vacuum, applied through the nozzle, removes the debris from the brush.
A problem with this cleaning nozzle is that scum, consisting of melted toner, receiver sheet fillers and acrylic fibers from the brush, builds up on the nozzle. The scum is very brittle and abrasive. Frequent cleaning of the nozzle is required to prevent scum buildup. In addition, once the nozzle becomes scummed, the nozzle can no longer effectively remove debris from the brush. This debris that remains in the brush can be redeposited on the photoconductive member, causing nonuniform background in the finished copy. A further problem is that pieces of the scum periodically break off from the nozzle. Some of these pieces of scum are transported by the brush to the photoconductive member where the pieces can cause large digs in the member. These digs show up as spots and/or background defects in copies. The life of the photoconductive member is thus tremendously shortened as a result of this problem.